The room fell silent for a moment.
Kannazuki stood rigidly at the side, hands clasped behind his back. His expression was serious—rare, considering he usually got… overly excited in Spirit situations.
"If this trend continues," he said calmly, "it indicates an external factor. Possibly dimensional interference, or—" he glanced at the main screen, "—someone 'opening a door' from the other side."
Shido swallowed. "You mean… this isn't a coincidence?"
"In this world?" Kannazuki smiled faintly. "Coincidence is just a term for what we don't yet understand."
"Quiet."
A single word from Kotori immediately cut through the conversation.
All eyes turned back to her.
Kotori lowered her hands from her head, sitting up straighter. Her gaze was cold, full of control.
"We're not here to theorize at length. Focus on the facts." She pointed at the main screen. "The Spirit isn't rampaging. It's merely withstanding AST attacks."
Reine nodded slightly. "Correct. Its movement patterns are defensive. There's no intention to attack the AST units."
Kotori narrowed her eyes. "So it can still be 'negotiated' with."
Shido immediately turned. "Eh—so you mean me?"
Kotori glanced at him without fully turning. "Who else?"
On the screen, flashes of light erupted again as the unknown Spirit deflected the AST's magical shots—not with anger, but with precision.
As if it knew exactly how much force it could exert, and that made Kotori even more cautious.
"…A Spirit that can restrain itself amidst attacks like that," she murmured softly,
"is usually the most dangerous."
***
Amidst the chaotic battle, Morgan raised her hand calmly.
A single snap of her fingers sounded quietly—almost out of sync with the roar of weapons and energy blasts all around.
The air surrounding the AST units trembled, and the surface of the space seemed to ripple like silent, dripping water.
In an instant, their bodies distorted under layered reflections of light, before the entire forms were sucked in, as if shadows drawn to the bottom of a pool.
Using her Magecraft Mirror Water, Morgan sent them all to the North Pole.
The forest fell silent again.
No more gunfire.
No more energy explosions.
The AST units that had filled the air moments ago were gone, as if the battlefield had been a misplaced illusion.
A thin mist hung among the trees—the remnants of magic not yet fully dissipated.
Morgan stood alone in the empty space.
Her black-and-blue Winter Queen gown flowed elegantly over her form. The black crown with sharp blue crystals rested atop her long, straight white hair, falling like a stream of snow.
Her dark cloak swayed gently in the night breeze, while the Demon Spear in her hand still shimmered faintly, reflecting the moonlight above.
She exhaled softly.
"That's all there is."
Her tone was flat. Emotionless. Devoid of pride. Pure judgment.
"Sending them into clear waters should clear their minds as well."
As if she had not just wiped out an entire military unit—only removed an eyesore from the scenery.
Morgan glanced slightly at the dark sky.
"This world overreacts to even a little magecraft. Fragile… and noisy."
She began to turn.
But—
"—Wait!"
The voice shattered the silence.
Morgan stopped.
Slowly, she turned toward the source of the voice behind the trees.
Footsteps rustled through the underbrush, and a boy with blue hair emerged from the shadows.
School uniform. Slightly out of breath. Yet his eyes—were not filled with fear.
Morgan regarded him with a flat expression.
"A human."
Her gaze swept downward briefly, assessing his physical condition and energy pulse, before returning to his face.
"You are neither soldier, nor mage, nor Spirit."
A brief silence.
"Then why do you approach… something you do not understand?"
Her tone carried no threat. More like someone genuinely curious about the reasoning behind the choice.
Shido swallowed.
His heart was pounding—but his feet did not move back.
"I…" he caught his breath, "…I just couldn't stay still."
His eyes met Morgan's directly.
"You… didn't look like you were going to hurt anyone back there."
He gestured toward the empty sky where the AST units had just been.
"You could've… well, done much worse. But you didn't."
She clenched her hand slightly.
"If you were truly evil, this forest—and perhaps the whole city—would have been in ruins by now."
Silence.
The night wind whispered softly between them.
"So… I want to know."
Shido's gaze was steady, honest, without any deceit.
"Who… are you?"
Morgan remained silent.
Behind the thin veil partially covering her face, her eyes narrowed—not in anger, but in assessment. Her gaze fixed on Shido, as if trying to unravel the thoughts inside his head.
"This child…" she thought calmly. "Talks too much. Yet his observations… are not bad."
Shido, in turn, remained quiet. He did not break the silence. Did not force anything. He simply waited—allowing space, something rarely done for someone like Morgan.
Kotori's voice suddenly came through the intercom in his ear.
"Good. Shido, keep going. Build that emotional connection!"
Shido swallowed hard. He took a single step closer—not too close, just enough to show he had no intention of attacking.
He drew a deep breath, as if calming his own heart racing too fast.
"I may not understand who you are… or where you come from…"
His hand went up, scratching the back of his head awkwardly—a reflexive, honest gesture, uncalculated.
But his eyes didn't flinch.
There was no fear. Only nervousness… and a clumsy sincerity.
"But I can see one thing."
His gaze shifted to the night sky, toward the place where the AST units had disappeared—swallowed by darkness without a trace.
Then back to Morgan.
"You held back."
Silence hung in the air, thin as a thread that could snap at any moment.
"People who only want to destroy… usually don't think twice."
He swallowed again, yet continued.
"So when I asked who you are… I didn't mean just your name."
His tone softened, but remained unwavering.
"You look like someone who has a reason to stand here."
The night wind whispered softly, carrying the scent of earth and the lingering heat of battle.
"And… people don't stand alone in a strange place without a reason."
Shido shrugged slightly.
"I just… want to understand."
Not judging, not afraid, and certainly not worshiping. Just a human with a heart too honest to pretend indifference.
The wind moved between them, slipping through the immeasurable space that separated them.
"Just want to understand?" Morgan repeated in a cold tone. "You're letting yourself be in danger?"
Silence hung briefly between them.
"This conversation," Morgan said, her voice cold as ice, "has no further strategic value."
She began to walk away from Shido. Her steps were calm, graceful, as if what she just left behind wasn't a battlefield… but a banquet she had lost interest in.
"A human who doesn't understand their position shouldn't stand too close to something that can erase them."
Her dark robes shifted gently, like a shadow of the night deciding to move on.
"I do not destroy because there is no reason to. Unnecessary damage is merely foolishness… the kind that likes to shout loudly."
Shido swallowed, but his feet remained planted.
"…Then… why are you here alone?"
Morgan's steps slowed.
Silence.
For the first time, her answer did not come immediately.
Her gaze returned to him—probing, as if weighing something she wouldn't even admit she was seeking.
"Curiosity without self-preservation… is an inefficient trait."
Her face turned away.
"Yet you still approached."
Her robes swayed as she turned fully.
"This conversation has already exceeded its strategic value."
She walked away, steady and unwavering.
"If I continue to respond, you will think I care."
And Morgan departed, leaving Shido under the night sky—with the wind now colder, and the silence deeper.
Silence enveloped the Fraxinus command room.
Crack…!!!
Then shattered by the crisp sound of a lollipop being bitten—Kotori.
"What the…!?" she grumbled, a mix of irritation and disbelief in her tone.
Her eyes narrowed at the main panel displaying data of the Spirit who had just spoken with Shido.
The affection graph didn't move at all.
No rise. No fall.
The line remained perfectly flat at zero.
Beside her, Kannazuki stood—and for some reason, looked deeply moved.
He hugged himself, his body swaying gently like grass blown by a spring breeze.
"Truly… cold…" he murmured dramatically. "A pure-hearted young man… and a cold woman—no… an Queen of Winters…"
He stopped swaying, then turned to Kotori, eyes sparkling excessively.
"Captain! That is a combination—"
Before he could finish the sentence—
BUGH!
Kotori's fist landed squarely in her deputy's stomach.
"Guhuk—!!!"
Kannazuki's body doubled over before collapsing to the command room floor. Strangely, the man wore a satisfied smile, as if he had just received the highest honor.
Kotori didn't even glance at him.
Her gaze returned to the screen, now showing Shido standing alone after the Spirit had left.
Her expression turned serious.
"Reine. Kyouji. Masaomi. Hinako. Munechika. Kozue."
Her voice was sharp, precise—like a military commander.
"We'll use the usual method."
"Yes!" they responded in unison.
Several additional panels lit up simultaneously.
On the main screen, the system immediately displayed three possible responses for Shido.
And the dating operation—began.
___
Author's Note:
Unfortunately Our Queen, Queen of Winters is not a girl who can be conquered by feelings. 😌
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